CHICAGO - The managing director of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. says the entire Safeway grocery store chain could be bought, it was reported Friday."Grocery stores generate stable cash flow. They are the quintessential buyout candidates," Sean Egan told the Chicago Sun-Times.Egan said that the supermarket chain could be purchased by a private-equity concern, and named Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co., Thomas H. Lee Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners as potential buyers.Safeway, which tried to sell its ... [full story]

Hold on to your wallet, brace yourself for confusion and sour faces in-flight, and get used to tighter seating in smaller planes on longer trips. Airline mergers are in the air. In fact, by the time you read this, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines may be engaged for a corporate marriage, but don't expect a festive reception.
Even if the two airlines' 11,000 unionized pilots can agree on a new joint contract, there will ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - A tiny San Diego biotechnology company has coaxed human embryonic stem cells to evolve into cells that produce insulin to control blood sugar when injected into mice with diabetes, according to a study published online Wednesday in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
The study shows that Novocell, a privately held company with 37 employees, is moving one step closer to its goal of creating a human embryonic stem cell therapy for diabetes.
"I ... [full story]

SAN DIEGO - After splitting with Carlsbad, Calif., weight-loss company Jenny Craig, actress and celebrity spokeswoman Kirstie Alley has plans to launch her own weight-loss business in 2009.
The venture could put Alley, 57, in direct competition with her former employer.
"The weight-loss field is wide open and not immune to new ideas and improved solutions for the fat problems that plague many of us Americans every day," Alley said in a statement posted on ... [full story]

Robert Kahn, considered one of the fathers of the Internet for his part in inventing its cornerstone technology, came across a new technological concept in San Diego in the 1980s.
SEMICONDUCTORS - In the 1990s, the cost of building a semiconductor fabrication plant passed the $1 billion mark. Today, a state-of-the-art plant could cost from $5 billion to $10 billion, according to analysts' estimates. CNS Photo by Earnie Grafton.
At the time, Silicon Valley was hitting ... [full story]

If there has been an ebb and flow to the underwater technology industry, SeaBotix Inc. may be part of a new tide in maritime innovation.
SeaBotix specializes in designing and building a relatively new class of underwater robots known as ROVs, or remotely operated vehicles.
PLUMBING THE DEPTHS - A SeaBotix robot is maneuvered near a San Diego Harbor Police boat as deputies trained with the device. The ROVs are 20 inches long, 10 inches ... [full story]

PORTLAND, Ore. - The U.S. Marine Corps announced it has placed an order with Oregon-based LaCrosse Footwear for the delivery of cold-weather boots for troops in Afghanistan.LaCrosse Footwear is a developer of footwear designs for demands of law enforcement, firefighting, construction and military services among others. Company officials say its Danner subsidiary has received a $900,000 contract for the delivery of 5,730 pairs of Mountain Cold Weather Boots for U.S. troops in Afghanistan facing rugged ... [full story]

Shocking but true. Not every business traveler flies in the front of the plane or on the new crop of small, super-luxury, all-business-class jets that promise acres of legroom and cabin service fit for a sheik. Nor does every CEO have a private corporate jet.
But it would seem that way based on recent press coverage of these luxury hotels with wings. Lufthansa's all-business-class 737, actually leased from another company, was a novel idea when ... [full story]

WHEELING, Ill. - Wickes Furniture Co., of Wheeling, Ill., a chain with 37 stores in Illinois, Indiana, Oregon and California, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.The company Monday declared its liabilities were between $50 million and $100 million, while its assets ranged between $10 million and $50 million, the Chicago Tribune reported. Wickes had been asking suppliers to hold off on payments. Its parent company, Sun Capital Partners Inc., specializes in leveraged buy-outs, the ... [full story]

BEND, Ore. - Neil Kelly Company, Oregon’s “most experienced” design/build remodeler, has completed purchase of a Bend kitchen and bath business and will be opening a remodeling design center and showroom to serve the central Oregon market. The acquisition of Kitchen & Bath Concepts’ business and its building at 190 NE Irving Ave. is effective today.
The local showroom will remain open and current projects will continue while the building undergoes extensive remodeling. It will ... [full story]

Bend Location is second Oregon specialty gourmet store featuring everything for the home chef
BEND, Ore. – Allyson’s Kitchen, formerly Allyson’s of Ashland, will open its second Oregon location at the Old Mill District in Bend. The new store will host a variety of food and wine tastings and cooking demonstrations during its grand opening Feb. 15-17. Allyson’s Kitchen is a gourmet paradise with an extensive selection of kitchen tools, pots and pans, cutlery, and kitchen electrics. ... [full story]

Company Urges Lawmakers to Protect Americans’ Privacy
BELLEVUE, Wash. – Nearly four years ago, Verizon Wireless said that a wireless directory would be a “dumb idea.” Now, as another company leaks its plans to sell the cell phone numbers of private citizens, Verizon Wireless this week called on that company to halt the mining and sale of these numbers.
“Stop it. This is a violation of Americans’ privacy. People expect their cell phone numbers to ... [full story]

Scoundrel, sportsman, steel mill laborer, shrewd 19th century speculator. Just a few of the items on the curriculum vitae of E.R. Bradley, whose name adorns the hottest saloon in West Palm Beach, Fla. Other career skills: gold miner, gambler, cowboy, thoroughbred horse breeder and owner of four Kentucky Derby winners.
He's also said to have been a pal of gun-toting peacekeeper Wyatt Earp - legend or legit? Consider this: Bradley graced the cover of Time ... [full story]